


LAUNCH [ King_Of_Games.exe ]

by TheArtisticIntrovert



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Pre-Canon, Autistic Mutou Yuugi, Gamer AU - Freeform, Gamer Mutou Yuugi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pre-Canon, also additional characters but it's just yuugi rn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-28
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:40:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22935730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheArtisticIntrovert/pseuds/TheArtisticIntrovert
Summary: Third year nobody Mutou Yuugi was a paper-pushing slacker, filling his days with school and his nights with gaming. He was perfectly fine with this loser lifestyle.....but it seems the universe had other plans. Now he found himself thrust into a world that seems to only exist in fiction, with new powers he doesn't want, need, nor understand. What now?
Comments: 14
Kudos: 26





	1. Initialization

**Author's Note:**

> this idea wouldn't leave me alone so now i'm making it everyone else's problem
> 
> also this takes place a year before canon, when yuugi is still a third year in middle school.

_ You have slept in your own bed! HP and MP restored 100%. Gained “Well Rested” buff! _

When he woke up to a blue screen in front of his face proclaiming him well rested, Mutou Yuugi was about 95% sure he was still dreaming. He’d fallen asleep gaming the night before, as usual, but even then his television was on the wall at the foot of his bed, not the side. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, wondering if that’d make the screen go away. When he opened them again, it was still there, like it was taunting him. He frowned, poking at the box. It felt solid, rippling slightly with rainbow static where his finger touched it, not unlike the LCD screen. 

Further experimentation had to wait though, as he was startled out of his inspection by his mom shouting for him. “Yuugi! You need to wake up or you’ll be late!” A loud  _ PING!  _ sounded off, another box popping up by the first one. This new box was light grey rather than blue, and written mostly in bold text. It was also much larger than the first, containing much more text. 

**_[ New Quest! ]_ **

**_Schoolboy_ **

**_Get dressed or you’ll be late! Get dressed and get to school before 8 am!_ **

**_Reward:_ **

  * **_10 EXP_**


  * +5 REP with Mutou Ren


  * +5 REP with Mutou Suguroku



**_Penalty:_ **

  * **_-5 REP with Mutou Ren_**


  * -5 REP with Mutou Suguroku


  * Detention


  * Cleaning Duty



**_[ O | X ]_ **

Baffled, Yuugi hesitantly pressed the large O to accept the “quest”, jumping back with a yelp when the box suddenly disappeared. He shook his head, glancing at the clock and scrambling out of bed like the devil himself was on his heels. He didn’t have time to worry about the box now, he had to go! Hastily he swiped his hand through the still-present blue box, barely registering it rippling out of existence as he hurriedly tripped over himself trying to pull on his school uniform. Not having time to put his contacts in, he just quickly ran a brush through his mess of curls and grabbed his glasses, hopping on one foot as he tried to pull on his sock at the same time. A couple quick swipes of deodorant later, and he was good to go. Maybe a bit more disheveled than he’d like, but ready nonetheless. Not that it mattered, his classmates bullied him anyway and the teachers already thought him a no good slacker. 

He skidded downstairs, almost slipping on the rug and faceplanting down the stairs before overcorrecting on the banister. “Bye Mom gotta go love you!” he shouted, snatching up a few of last night’s tempura from the counter and stuffing it in his mouth. He pulled his bento out of the fridge and pulled on his shoes, bursting out the side door to take the alley shortcut. 

He made it to class with seconds to spare, wheezing slightly as he slunk to his seat. Nobody really paid him any attention, getting their last bit of socializing in before the teacher came in to start homeroom, and he was grateful for it. He’d just plopped down in his seat when another  _ PING!  _ sounded. 

**_[ Quest Complete! ]_ **

**_Schoolboy_ **

**_Get dressed or you’ll be late! Get dressed and get to school before 8 am!_ **

**_REWARDS_ **

  * **_\+ 10 EXP_**


  * \+ 5 REP (Mutou Ren)


  * \+ 5 REP (Mutou Sugoroku)



Since there was no way he was still asleep with all that adrenaline in his system, Yuugi had no choice but to accept this nonsense as a new part of his reality. He’d fiddle with it a bit later, but he had to pay attention now. He’d mess with it at lunch or something, because there’s no way he’d be able to ignore it until he got home again.

\--

After what felt like a million, agonizingly slow years, lunch rolled around. Everyone else in class 3-B ran outside, almost knocking over poor Yamada-sensei in their haste to leave the room while the weather was still good. Yuugi just rolled his eyes at their exuberance, choosing instead to stare out the window until he was sure everyone was gone. As soon as the last of them left the room, teacher included, he zoned back into reality. “Okay.....time to fiddle. I know there’s quests, so—” before he could go any further, a dark window edged in blue popped up in front of him. On the top were several tabs, the currently open one labeled “Quest Log”, fittingly enough. The others weren’t labeled, though they did have a few strange icons that he’d look at later.

On the left of the window, greyed out, was the word “Schoolboy”. Vaguely, Yuugi remembered that the quest he’d completed (and he still wasn’t thinking about that, no sir) had been called the same thing. He tapped it, raising an eyebrow when the black window suddenly filled with text. It was the same text he’d seen before, when the quest had first shown up, though instead of the buttons to accept or refuse it just said  **COMPLETED** in big, bold English letters. He frowned, rubbing his eyes under his glasses as he felt a headache coming on. His English was good, but not  _ that  _ good. Time for another test.

“Um.....Options?” he tried, smiling slightly when another window popped up. This one was entirely blue, and much smaller than the quest window it was overlaid on. There were three choices, each again in English. 

_ [ Gameplay ] _

_ [ Audio ] _

_ [ Graphics ] _

The “Audio” and “Graphics” options were greyed out, so he chose the top one, “Gameplay”. The window rippled slightly, expanding a bit to show the new options. A lot of it was nonsense to him, but he did see the language option towards the bottom. He selected it, scanning the list and smiling when he noticed Japanese was next on the list under English. He selected it quickly and breathed a sigh of relief as the menus rippled, becoming something he could read much easier. He accepted the changes, before backing out into the gameplay options again. Now that he could read them, he saw that there really weren’t that many. He did turn on the minimap and HUD out of curiosity, but left everything else as it was.

He backed out of the menu again, eyes almost immediately catching the new additions to his point of view. In the top right corner, a tiny map of the third floor of the school was shown, with a blue triangle in one of the rooms. He glanced at the map, eyes widening when it expanded, solidifying a bit. Now that it was bigger, he could see that the map was zoomed into his classroom (or, what he  _ assumed  _ was his classroom), and he figured that the triangle was supposed to represent him. He stopped focusing on the map, letting it go back to normal, and instead looked at the new bars towards the bottom of his field of view. One was red, probably a HP bar, and next to it was another, made of small, grey orbs. Below that was a green bar, probably stamina or MP, though he was leaning towards stamina. Because honestly, weird game powers or not, this was still real life and magic didn’t exist. He nodded firmly, choosing to believe that until it was proven otherwise.

Yuugi decided to let the HUD and the map stay for now, as they weren’t exactly intrusive. It was a little weird to be sure, but he got used to it easily enough. Next on his list was figuring out exactly  _ how  _ much of a game his life had apparently become. But first.....  _ “Stats,” _ he thought firmly, grinning when another window popped up. That was handy, it’d suck if he had to go around shouting out things like “Inventory” around other people.

He shook his head, focusing on the status screen. On it was a tiny, 3D model of himself, and he shook his head in disgust. Did his hair  _ really  _ look that unkempt? No wonder Anzu avoided being seen with him! He sighed, choosing to ignore the Mini-Yuugi for now as to avoid a self-loathing spiral. He focused instead on the text below the Mini-Yuugi, facepalming at his terrible stats.

**_Mutou Yuugi_ **

**_Level: 3 (65/100)_ **

**_Class: The Gamer_ **

**_Race: Human_ **

**_Title(s): Nerd, Victim_ **

**_HP: 200/200_ **

**_MP: 150/150 [ LOCKED ]_ **

**_SP: 300/300_ **

**_ATK: 0 (5 - 10 = -5 = 0)_ **

**_DEF: 35 (5 + 30 = 35)_ **

**_STR: 2_ **

**_INT: 4 (+2 = 6)_ **

**_WIS: 3_ **

**_DEX: 5_ **

**_VIT: 3_ **

**_LUK: 2_ **

**_CHA: 3_ **

**_Points: 0_ **

**_Money: ¥2214.32_ **

**_Mutou Yuugi is a third-year middle school student at Domino Middle School. He is a lonely slacker, not having many friends due to his obsession with games. Despite this, he’s rather content with his lot in life, having accepted it as something he can’t change. He is a pacifist and prefers to solve his problems without violence whenever possible, a sentiment he wishes was shared by his many, many bullies._ **

Annoyed, Yuugi felt his eye twitch involuntarily as he read the description. “What the hell is this? And whaddya mean ‘Victim’?!” he groused, glaring at the screen. This thing made him out to be some kind of depressed moron! Sure he only had one friend and he preferred to play video games than do homework, but that didn’t mean his life was  _ that  _ bad! He rolled his eyes, but stabbed a finger at the titles anyway. He poked the one labeled “Victim” first, wanting to know how the hell to get rid of it.

**_[ Victim ]_ **

**_Marks you as an easy target. Players with this title equipped will appear weaker, drawing in more enemies who see them as easy prey. They sacrifice attack power in order to gain more defense, allowing them to survive until help comes._ **

**_-10 ATK_ **

**_+30 DEF_ **

**_[ Unequip ]_ **

Yuugi growled again, pressing the “Unequip” button so fast his finger almost bent on the semi-physical screen. A confirmation screen popped up, but he ignored it, slamming the accept button. His shoulders slumped as an aura of  _ something  _ enveloped him, but honestly it was a small price to pay, in his opinion. Just to make sure, he glanced at the still-open “Status” screen, relaxing when he noticed that the titles no longer included “Victim”. Maybe that meant he’d be singled out less, though honestly he strongly doubted it. Sure, he knew  _ logically  _ that it was super unlikely that everyone hated him and wanted to see him suffer personally, but anxiety was a hell of a bitch to deal with.

That done, he turned his attention back to the forgotten quest window. He only had about half an hour until everyone started coming back in, and he did want to eat at some point. He pushed the next tab, this one with a strange looking sigil of some sort on it. When the tab expanded, he saw it was labelled “Skills”. This one had more tabs on the left, each with their own labels. The top one said “Attack”, the next said “Defense”, and below that one were “Utility” and “Passive”.

The “Attack” tab was already selected, and in the middle he could see a skill tree with only one icon, the rest of the branches leading to nothing. The icon was greyed out and had the image of a tiny man performing some sort of martial arts move. Assuming it was some sort of physical attack skill, Yuugi ignored it. While it would be nice to be able to defend himself, it was rather useless to him if he didn’t want to fight. He wasn’t stupid, he knew he was small and relatively weak. He wouldn’t last a second in a physical fight, and there wasn’t any point in spending points on skills he’d never use. As he was about to hit the “Defense” tab, however, another ping sounded.

**_For thinking about a problem logically, +1 WIS!_ **

That’s.......concerning. He could earn points just by doing actions in real life? Once he shook off the implications of everything in his life being watched over like one big cosmic joke, it was actually pretty cool. It meant he wouldn’t have to rely solely on spending points to get higher levels in his stats, which was nice. He sighed, pushing the “Defense” tab. This one had more skills unlocked, though they were still greyed out. He frowned, wondering if there was a tutorial somewhere. Another familiar ping, and a new window popped up next to him. This one automatically closed out all the other windows, which was fine by him. It was getting a little crowded, and he’d almost started feeling like some sort of sci-fi character. He shook his head, focusing on the new window.

**_Welcome to the Game!_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know the game system is complicated, it's a terrible amalgamation of skyrim, blade and soul (mostly blade and soul), secrets of grindea, and a handful of other rpgs i've played for extra spice. the next chapter contains a tutorial, it's long but necessary. anyway i know this didn't start out like most gamer au fics (having yuugi rush directly to school for one, not unlocking observe right away, not unlocking physical resistance, etc) but i'm just sorta writing what's in my brain at this point
> 
> also the skill tree, i know that's gonna be a little controversial but like. this is yuugi BEFORE canon happens. even then, the whole "anything can be a skill in the game!" thing is SUPER op, and i'm trying to balance it at least a little bit. sue me, i wanna be a game designer, and after a while op characters become......bland. hell, in the manhwa jihan's had observe for about six months and it's already leveled into an ability called _low class god's eye_ for pete's sake!
> 
> so yeah, i'm nerfing the game a bit. fight me


	2. Tutorial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> obligatory tutorial chapter it's long be aware

**_Welcome to the Game!_ **

_ Congratulations,  _ **_[ Mutou Yuugi ]_ ** _ ! You’ve been selected to be the new Gamer! This power is complicated, so this tutorial will only touch on the basics. For a full help manual, just use the “Help” command! _

**_Quests_ **

_ Every task could technically be called a quest, but only certain tasks will give you rewards. You’ll have to experiment to find out which ones, but a good rule of thumb is the more complex a task, the more likely you’ll get a reward for it. Most quests reward experience (EXP), some reward reputation points (see  _ **_Reputation_ ** _ section for more information), and some reward money. _

**_Skills_ **

_ You really need this one explained? They’re things you’re good at! All skills fall in one of four categories; Attack, Defense, Utility, and Passive. You can make your own skills, but the only ones that can be improved upon with the game system are ones that fall into these categories. (Note: Passive skills are always on, but don’t confuse them with Status Effects!) See the  _ **_Skills_ ** _ section of the manual for more information. _

**_Reputation_ **

_ How much people like you! Everyone you meet has an opinion of you, be it good, bad, or neutral. The better your reputation is, the more likely that person is to help you out. If you don’t know someone by name, they will be grouped in with the place you met them. For example, your classmates that you haven’t met will be grouped under “Class 3-B”, while the school as a whole will be “Domino Middle School”. You need to know someone’s name before they get their own reputation bar within the system, to keep things organized. _

**_Inventory_ **

_ A small pocket dimension that you can store things in. Each item in the inventory takes up one slot, and you can store up to 88 unique items in the inventory. Items of an identical type will stack, up to 999. You can store money in here too, but it goes to a special wallet and won’t take up a slot! There’s no cap to how much money you can hold at once. There’s more to it, but you need to explore and find that out yourself. Be creative with it! _

**_Status_ **

_ This shows all your titles, stat points, money, and a brief description of yourself. In addition, there is a small avatar of yourself that you can use to quick-equip items. (For more information on equipment, refer to the  _ **_Equipment_ ** _ section.) Some items boost your stats temporarily, with the boost going away once you unequip the item. In addition, some items of clothing will alter your reputation with certain groups. For example, if you were to wear the Domino Middle School uniform, then your reputation points with their rival school will automatically lower until you unequip the uniform. Or if you were to dress like a hoodlum, your reputation with the general population would lower. The clothes make the man, after all! _

**_Equipment and Enchanting_ **

_ Everything you wear is counted as equipment. The better the quality, the more armor points you gain from it. Some items, such as enchanted jewelry, even boost your stats! All mundane jewelry can be enchanted if it’s at least C-rank quality. Plastic costume jewelry cannot be enchanted. Certain items, such as the ?, also cannot be enchanted. Key items for quests cannot be enchanted. See the  _ **_Enchanting_ ** _ section of the manual for more information. You can buy equipment from the  _ **_Marketplace._ **

**_Status Effects and Perks_ **

_ These are temporary and permanent alterations to your status, respectively.  _ **_Status Effects_ ** _ are gained via actions, items, or PvP. For example, sleeping in your own bed grants you the  _ **_Well Rested_ ** _ effect, increasing HP and SP regen by 10% for 8 hours.  _ **_Perks_ ** _ are permanent and are gained via prestige (resetting a skill after it reaches Level 100), or again via PvP. Perks can be either positive or negative, same as status effects. ( _ **_NOTE:_ ** _ The perks “Gamer’s Mind” and “Gamer’s Body” are LVL MAX and cannot be improved upon or reset. This is the basis for the game, so don’t try to get rid of them!) _

**_Titles_ **

_ These are basically semi-permanent buffs. You can equip and unequip them at will, up to a maximum of 3. Not all titles are beneficial, be aware! You can find out more information on a specific title by tapping it in the [ Status ] screen. All your titles can be seen in the  _ **_Title_ ** _ menu. _

_ Those are the basics! More information can be found in the Manual. Have fun, and happy gaming! _

**_You have gained 10 free ability points for completing the tutorial! Hidden quest [ What Am I Doing? ] complete! + 100 EXP!_ **

**_Level Up! You are now Level 4!_ **

**_[ Close ]_ **

Yuugi sat back, digesting all the information he’d just read. He was officially a game character of some sort, not to mention magic was apparently real. Enchanting, at least. He frowned, going back to the Status page. Yep, right there under his HP, was a MP value. He tapped on the [ LOCKED ] status, barely flinching this time when a new window popped up. 

**_[ MP Lock ]_ **

**_As a human character, your ability to use magic is not innate. You must find an item, or bond with a supernatural creature, in order to unlock your abilities. Once unlocked, your MP can be improved upon with each level up for as long as you are in contact with said item and/or entity. Once the bond is broken, your MP will once more be locked in stasis at the last stage it was in._ **

Okay, so magic is real. He....wasn’t quite sure what to do with that, but the knowledge that he had to channel it through something at least made sense. At least his life hadn’t  _ entirely  _ turned into a bad shounen manga. Small mercies.

He sighed, closing out the windows and pulling his bento out of his bag. It seemed so....unappetizing now, especially after learning all he had in the last twenty minutes or so. Well, it gave him a chance to test something else at least.  _ “Inventory,”  _ he thought firmly, smiling when a narrow window popped up. The Mini-Yuugi was at the top of this one too, but there were little slots next to him this time. Below the Mini-Yuugi were rows upon rows of empty slots, with a few tabs to the right of the window. Yuugi pushed his bento into the first of the slots, eyes widening as it fizzed out of existence, reappearing in the first slot with a tiny x1 in the bottom right corner. That, more than anything, was the proof he needed to realize this was happening. His life was truly a game now, and he wasn’t sure what to do from here. He had no ambitions, no true desires, no dreams, nothing. He was doing the equivalent of pushing papers until he eventually graduated, got a salary job, and died, unfulfilled. His only skills revolved around games, to the point where apparently the universe decided to have it all culminate in his  _ life  _ becoming a game.

He dropped his head to the desk with a dull thud, miserably trying to swallow back the tears. He was the  _ last  _ person who should get a power like this. It’d be better suited to one of the kids with actual futures, rather than a barely-functional game otaku. Hell, he couldn’t even finish a stupid puzzle, and he’d been working on the damn thing for  _ seven years  _ now. He sighed, shoving himself upright and rubbing his eyes roughly. 

He had the powers now, and even if there wasn’t anything he could think to do with them, at least he’d be able to get his life in order. Maybe if he improved himself enough, Anzu would come back. Maybe he’d get new friends. Maybe Mama would come home more, instead of working so many hours. If he weren’t such a burden, if he were a better son, if only if only. Hell, maybe he could work towards being a game designer at KaibaCorp! It was unlikely for sure, but before today he would’ve said that magic was only something that happened in fiction too. It was worth a shot, and he was already at rock bottom.

There wasn’t anywhere to go but up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i based the game off of a mix of blade and soul, yandere simulator (the reputation stuff), and skyrim. ui is blade and soul-based, which is why there's only 88 slots. infinite inventory is op and you can't tell me it isn't, same with infinite skills. i can't remember if i already mentioned those things or not so here they are.
> 
> i still don't know where i'm going with this lmao


	3. Skill Unlock

Yuugi managed to make that resolve last a whopping twenty minutes, before it once again fizzled out in the face of the monotony that was middle school. He ended up doodling on the edges of his notes, mind wandering. He wanted to mess with the menus some more, his gamer hindbrain chomping at the bit to explore a new “game”, but he refused to give them any more fuel. It was bad enough that he was a friendless loser, he didn’t need to give them any more ammunition. He just counted his lucky stars that his stims were unobtrusive enough that people pegged it as anxiety. 

He sighed silently, gaze drifting around the classroom. Same old, same old. Hinata’s hair was looking taller than ever, Saiki was sleeping behind her folder, Yoshimura-sensei’s name was floating above her head, Juuzo was—wait, what? Yuugi blinked hard, for the first time watching the teacher attentively. Sure enough, floating above her head was a nameplate, one that read **[ Yoshimura Aiko Lv. 8 ]** . Setting aside how weird it was that he now knew his teacher’s first name, he looked around the room, eyes darting beneath his fringe.  **[ Hinata Kotaru Lv. 4 ]** ,  **[ Yanagi Reiko Lv. 5 ]** ,  **[Tsubara Daichi Lv. 2 ]** , it went on and on. Every single person in the room had a nameplate, and he felt his back break into a cold sweat at the implications. 

This was  _ real.  _ It wasn’t just  _ his  _ life being affected by the game, it was everyone else’s too. The levels obviously weren’t based on age, because if that were the case then every one of his classmates would be around the same level as him, and the teacher would be way higher. True, there was a massive difference between level 3 and level 8, especially in the early stages of a game, but Yoshimura-sensei was  _ ancient!  _ She had to be at  _ least  _ sixty years old, there’s no  _ way  _ she’d only be a level 8! He wasn’t sure if they were based on something else, like athletic ability or life experience, hell, it could be based on how many eggs you could eat in one sitting for all he knew! He tugged harshly at his earlobe, mind spinning with possibilities. Could he party up with people? Was there loot? Was there a combat system? 

_ “—utou-kun!  _ I’ve told you a thousand times, if my class is so boring that you fidget through it, you can leave!” Yuugi blinked, awareness rushing over him like a wave in his ears. Everyone was laughing at him. Yoshimura-sensei was glaring, a marker clenched in her hand like a sword. He blushed hotly, hands shooting away from his ears in embarrassment. It happened again, huh? “Nothing to say for yourself? Just as I thought—” she started, but Yuugi cut her off by standing abruptly. His chair screeched across the floor, almost drowning out the pounding of his heart in his ears. Was he really going to do this? He’d always dreamed of just walking out on her after one too many tirades about how he was “distracting” and “hopeless”, but.....Fuck it.

“Sorry, Sensei. I’ll listen this time,” he promised, before scooping up his bag and slipping out the door to his right. As the door shut behind him, he could faintly hear total chaos breaking out in the classroom. He speedwalked to the shoe lockers, quickly changing into his street shoes and making a break for it.  _ “Class was almost over anyway, it’s fine!”  _ he reasoned, making a beeline for the gate. Luckily for him, the gate had just been unlocked, but the staff member who was supposed to be watching it was nowhere to be seen. He hauled the gate back, inch by painful inch, before finally making a gap big enough to slip through. As soon as he set foot off school grounds, a pop-up appeared.

**_WARNING! School is still in session! By proceeding, you will be skipping class!_ **

**_Effects:_ **

**_[ Ditcher ]: Status effect lasting until the end of the school day. 85% chance of getting in trouble (affected by CHA). -50 REP with DMS Staff (Permanent). -30 REP with DMS Students (Permanent)._ **

**_40% chance to be stopped by police._ **

**_If caught (by police or DMS staff):_ **

**_-30 REP with Mutou Ren_ **

**_-30 REP with Mutou Suguroku_ **

**_-20 REP with Mutou Keiko_ **

**_[ O ] | [ X ]_ **

Yuugi frowned, reading it over. The only thing he could see that really would be a problem was the status effect, everything else only happened if he actually got caught. The reputation loss with the school and students didn’t bother him, it’s not like he had friends here anyway. The staff didn’t care about him and the students bullied him, so what if he had a worse reputation? It didn’t  _ matter.  _ He’d be graduating soon anyway, and he’d never have to see these people again.

Determinedly, he pushed the accept button and continued on. He’d only have a problem if he got caught, right?

\--

He got caught. Turns out his exit was so out of character that Yoshimura-sensei called his moms as soon as class was over, and both of them plus Grandpa were waiting when he got home. Mama was in her pajamas, having obviously woken up just for this, just adding to the guilt he felt. It was bad enough he left class on a whim, but to wake her up on one of her only days off? Almost criminal. Mom cried, Grandpa didn’t say anything, but the disappointment in the room was palpable. 

Now, lying in bed with the power cords to his TV and Famicom taken for the week, he had nothing to do but think. Why had he gotten caught? Hadn’t there only been a chance....? He thought back to what the prompt had said, sitting up abruptly when he realized that the chance depended on a stat. He pulled up his stats list again, focusing on his points.

**_STR: 2_ **

**_INT: 4 (+2 = 6)_ **

**_WIS: 3_ **

**_DEX: 5_ **

**_VIT: 3_ **

**_LUK: 2_ **

**_CHA: 3_ **

**_Points: 10_ **

That’s it, charisma. He didn’t know a whole lot about the charisma stat, tending to prefer MMOs to tabletop RPGs, but he did know it was akin to the Speech skill in most MMOs. He tapped on the icon, barely blinking now when another window suddenly popped up.

**_[ Charisma ]_ **

**_Do you have a silver tongue? This stat increases your ability to talk your way into and out of things, making people dance to YOUR tune. Higher levels mean a higher chance of success._ **

Yuugi grinned slightly, doing some quick math and putting four points into it. Being able to talk his way out of trouble would come in handy, especially now that with Ushio gone, his friends were trying to fill the power vacuum. Unfortunately, that meant twice the amount of bullies, and all of them were just as, if not more violent than Ushio himself. Brutish though he may be, Ushio at least had some form of morals to keep his underlings in line. With him gone, they were getting bolder. 

Yuugi sighed, closing the status window. He’d save the rest of his points for now, as he wasn’t sure when he’d get more. Probably once he hit a level milestone, skill points were usually rare. There was another thing that he needed to do though, now that he was thinking of it.  _ “Reputation,”  _ he thought firmly, sighing when the pitifully small list popped up.

**_Mutou Ren: +55 (Loved, Trusted)_ **

**_Mutou Keiko: +65 (Loved, Trusted)_ **

**_Mutou Sugoroku: +60 (Loved, Trusted)_ **

**_Mazaki Anzu: +30 (Liked, Warm)_ **

**_DMS Staff: -50 (Mistrusted, Disliked)_ **

**_DMS Students: -50 (Mistrusted, Disliked)_ **

It made sense. He did some quick math, feeling another pang in his heart when he realized that before today he’d had a great reputation with his family, and a neutral one with the staff at school. Now, he’d be lucky if anyone gave him the time of day. Still, it felt a little wrong, for it to drop that much just for ditching the last twenty minutes of class. Another ping sounded off, and he glanced over to see a small notification box.

**_New title acquired!_ ** **_  
_ ** **_  
_ ** ****_[ Delinquent ] (For having more than -40 REP with DMS staff): With this title equipped, you won’t be able to get help from teachers. Students are more likely to avoid you. Confrontations with bullies will also decrease._

**_\+ 5 STR_ **

**_\+ 5 ATK_ **

**_\- 3 CHA_ **

**_Equip Title?_ **

**_[ O ] | [ X ]_ **

He stared, dumbfounded.  _ One class  _ he’d skipped, and they were already labelling him a delinquent? He grumbled under his breath, rejecting the title. The box closed with little fanfare, and he rubbed his eyes harshly. What is  _ wrong  _ with people?! One bad decision, and all of a sudden he’s persona non grata there. Still, it had its perks. If the bullying got worse, he’d consider it. Until then.....no.

He needed a distraction. His brain was just going around in circles, and at this rate he was gonna have another meltdown. The first one took enough out of him as it was, he didn’t need a second in one day. He scooted out of his bed, padding over to his desk and taking a seat. Inside the top drawer lay his pride and joy, a half-finished, golden 3D puzzle. Grandpa had brought it back from a dig he’d gone on when he was younger, giving it to Yuugi on his eighth birthday. For seven years, he’d worked on the puzzle off and on, curious as to what it was. Truthfully though, he didn’t much care about what shape the puzzle took. No, he was more interested in the writing on the box.  _ “To the one who controls me, I will give dark wisdom and strength.”  _ A puzzle with a riddle, a dark history, and a promise of power? It practically  _ screamed  _ supernatural influence. And even if it  _ wasn’t  _ magic, who cared? It would still be a cool keepsake.

He was so engrossed in the puzzle, he almost didn’t hear the notification ping. Still, it was barely enough to break him out of his concentration, and he glanced over.

**_From constant observation of the world around you, a new [ Utility ] Skill has been unlocked!_ **

**_[ Observe (Active) ] Lv. 1_ **

**_Tells you information about the person/object you use it on. Shows name, level (if applicable), and a short summary._ **

**_Next Level: 0/500 EXP_ **

Yuugi’s eyes widened in disbelief. This thing.......This was so broken! Information about  _ anything?! _ Immediately, he used it on the puzzle. Even a little extra information couldn’t hurt! The skill unlock box was immediately replaced by a different one, this one slightly larger in size.

**_[ Millennium Puzzle (Broken) ]_ **

**_The pieces of the Millennium Puzzle, a magical artifact created as part of a set during the reign of Pharaoh ????, during the ??????? Era. This puzzle is said to hold mystical powers, including the ability to ????????._ **

**_[ Unlocks MP ]_ **

**_[ Unlocks “Magic” Skill Class ]_ **

“Are you  _ kidding?!”  _ Yuugi hissed, eyes so wide he felt they were gonna fall out. This puzzle was  _ actually magic?!  _ Sure, the multitude of blacked out information was annoying, though the name of the Pharaoh was a bit strange.......it looked like the information was  _ there,  _ just  _ glitched,  _ like the file got corrupted. He shook his head, poking at the puzzle in awe. Now that he knew it was magic, his resolve to complete it strengthened tenfold. After all, it wasn’t every day you found an honest to god  _ magical artifact! _ With this......maybe all his problems would be solved! Without realizing it, Yuugi broke out into quiet, near-maniacal laughter. If he did this right, then  _ nothing  _ and  _ nobody  _ could  _ ever  _ hurt him again. 

He swore it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> these titles.....can you tell i don't title my chapters lmao.
> 
> the names aren't actual bg characters lmao this is yuugi's middle school and there's no named characters from there so i literally just stole a bunch of names from other media and slapped them together
> 
> yuugi finally has observe!! it's baby weak rn lmaooo. also in case it wasn't clear (which it might not be and i apologize), the information in the puzzle's observe screen is like
> 
> pharoah ashdjash during the ahdsjhsad era. ability to ??????
> 
> everything pertaining to atem and who he was/when he ruled is glitched, but the ability thing is just question marks
> 
> also autistic yuugi rights! he's autistic bc i'm autistic and i say so


	4. Damage Calculation

All the shounen-esque resolve in the world wouldn't change one simple fact; Yuugi had no idea what the puzzle was supposed to _be._ After seven years, all he'd managed to get done was putting a few corner pieces together. Sometimes, it felt like the puzzle itself was making things harder, like it didn't _want_ to be solved. Before, he would've brushed it off as coincidence. After all, metal didn't have a brain. But now, after realizing it was a _magic_ puzzle, he reconsidered a bit. Who's to say the puzzle wasn't sentient? Logic? That went out the window the second magic came into the equation. Common sense? Same deal. Besides, he's seen enough movies to figure that most every magical artifact that came from Ancient Egypt had some sort of curse or stipulation attached.

Yuugi sighed and put down the puzzle, taking his glasses off and rubbing his eyes. He'd been at it for almost an hour now, and he'd only managed to put together three pieces. He couldn't shake the feeling that the puzzle didn't want to be solved, not yet anyway. Like there was something it was waiting for. He sighed again, setting the puzzle aside. This wasn't going to get him anywhere, so he might as well take a break. He stood up and stretched, wincing when his back popped loudly, before heading for his bed again. He wanted to fiddle with the menus some more, maybe fi—" Ow, _shit!"_ he hissed, tears springing to his eyes as he stubbed his toe on the sharp metal corner of his boxspring. He loved his bed, really he did, but sometimes the Western-style menace just wasn't worth it. Nobody ever heard of someone stubbing their toe on a _futon_ after all. He hobbled to the bed, plopping down and massaging his aching toe, blinking when he noticed yet another box in the corner of his eye.

**_New [Defensive] Skill Unlocked!_ **

**_[Physical Resistance] Level 1_ **

**_You're harder to damage. Attacks do 1% less damage. 0.5% chance for complete damage nullification (increases with higher levels)._ **

**_(Note: Works in tandem with Gamer's Body)_ **

**_EXP: 0/150_ **

**_[Passive]_ **

_"..........You gotta be kidding me,"_ Yuugi thought exasperatedly, staring dully at the box. Now that he thought about it, the pain was already gone. He wiggled his toes, eyes widening when there wasn't even a dull throbbing to signify the injury. Out of curiosity, he glanced at the HP bar he'd nearly forgotten about. The red wasn't quite at the edge anymore, and the numbers read **_215/220._ **Ignoring the fact that he apparently gained 20 HP points just for leveling up, the bed had definitely done damage. "Perks," he muttered, waiting for the screen to pop up. A screen resembling the [ Skills ] menu popped up, though this one had two boxes unlocked. One had an image of a boy with brown hair in a sort of prayer/power-up stance, with a yellow flare behind him. The other just had an image of a tanned, muscular arm flexing on a red background. Both were at max level, with a blue frame and a tiny padlock icon surrounding each box.

He tapped the left icon, the one with the boy in it. A screen popped up, though he was quickly getting used to it. 

**_[Gamer's Spirit (PASSIVE)]_ **

**_LV. MAX_ **

**_Recognize reality as a game and stay calm. Keeps the mind calm. Immunity to adverse mental effects. Emotions no longer overwhelm you. Ability to think calmly and rationally._ **

**_(Note: Only affects new statuses. Permanent Status: [ Autistic ] unaffected.)_ **

Well, that's.....something. He wasn't sure how he felt about this thing messing with his mind, nor about it classifying his autism as a "status", but that's alright. If it meant fewer meltdowns, he was all for it. After all, panic and sensory overload were "new" statuses, right? He sighed and clicked the second perk, the one with the flexing arm. Much like the first, a box popped up almost right away.

**_[Gamer's Body (PASSIVE)]_ **

**_LV. MAX_ **

**_Provides the body the ability to live life as a game._ **

There was much less information for that one, but he supposed it was pretty self-explanatory. Pain, wounds, and fatigue would probably be temporary, for one. For another, resting and eating would most likely refill his HP. He hadn't tested it yet, of course, but he'd played enough MMOs to get the gist. Now that he was thinking about it, though, he should probably look through that manual the tutorial had mentioned.

"Options?" he said, trying to remember how he'd gotten it earlier. Sure enough, there was a [ Help ] section now, right under [ Gameplay ]. That reminded him that now that he had the time, he should look through the settings more thoroughly. He tapped [ Gameplay ], and now that he could read it, he saw that there were a LOT of options he'd missed the first time around. A lot of them were dumb things, some looked too concerning to mess with, and some were things he'd already changed, like the HUD. One option caught his eye, though, something he'd looked over entirely during his mad rush to understand during lunch.

_[ Instant Dungeon Auto-Entrance ]_

**_ON_ **

_OFF_

He wasn't entirely sure what an "instant dungeon" was, but he turned that off anyway. It'd suck to be sucked into a dungeon unexpectedly, especially if he wasn't prepared for it at all. Still, as far as he was aware, there wasn't anyone else out there with these kinds of powers. So then, why dedicate an option specifically to dungeon entry, when there was nobody around to _make_ the dungeons? Did that mean that _he_ could make dungeons? Or were there natural dungeons scattered around somewhere?

**_[ New Quest! ]_ **

**_Dungeon Crawler_ **

**_Locate the natural dungeons in Domino City!_ **

**_0/4 Located_ **

**_BONUS:_ **

**_Complete the dungeons!_ **

**_0/4 Dungeons Completed (Domino City)_ **

**_Rewards:_ **

**_\- +250 EXP per dungeon located_ **

**_\- +500 EXP per dungeon completed_ **

**_\- +5 LUCK_ **

**_\- + ¥2000_ **

**_Penalties:_ **

**_\- N/A_ **

**_[ O | X ]_ **

Yuugi stared at the quest pop-up in silence for a long minute, unable to even lament the strange turn his life seemed to have taken. He'd love to write it off as a hallucination, but.....even though this all started this morning, he wasn't creative enough to dream all of this. Not to mention, a hallucination you could _touch_ was a bit out there, even for him. Silently, he accepted the quest, deciding not to comment on it. A quiet _ping_ sounded, and his attention drifted to the mini-map he'd honestly forgotten about. On it were four flashing blue triangles that settled down once he looked at them. That was handy that he didn't just have to _guess_ where the dungeons would be. 

Still, that raised another question. If he were to go through dungeons, he'd need some sort of combat ability, despite his pacifism. He wasn't stupid enough to go in unarmed, and 2000 yen was 2000 yen, so he definitely wasn't going to pass up on this opportunity. He opened the [ Skills ] menu again, this time going back to the [ Attack ] menu. The icon of the martial arts man in the middle was still there, but instead of being greyed out, it was now in color. Curious as to what changed, Yuugi pressed it.

**_[ Melee Attack (Passive) ]_ **

**_The most basic of combat abilities. Allows for an attack bonus in combat._ **

**_[ Unlocks "Basic Punch"]_ **

**_[ Unlocks "Weapon Mastery"]_ **

**_(Unlocked after completing quest [ What Am I Doing? ])_ **

**_(Note: Melee Attack skill cannot be leveled)_ **

Yuugi frowned slightly, reading over the description. Apparently, he'd just needed to finish reading the tutorial to unlock the primary tech trees. Still, he wished it had _mentioned_ that first. He closed out of the description, figuring that if it couldn't be leveled, there was no point in keeping the window open. Once he did so, three new icons appeared on the tech tree. One was the image of the man in the melee icon performing a punch, one had a sword with an arc behind it, and the last had the image of a giant war hammer with an explosion behind it. Each icon was greyed out, with a thin blue line connecting them to the icon at the base of the tree. 

He tapped the war hammer icon first, curious about that one. Another pop-up showed, similar to the [ Melee Attack ] skill.

**_[ Blunt Weapon Mastery (Passive) (LOCKED) ] Lv. 0_ **

**_Increases proficiency with blunt weapons, such as hammers, clubs, and blackjacks. Higher levels mean more damage bonus._ **

**_Current Bonus: +0 ATK/10 STR ( - 5 ATK) = 0_ **

**_Next Level: + 5 ATK / 10 STR ( - 5 ATK) = - 4 ATK_ **

**_(Note: Due to not meeting the minimum requirements, you will be penalized if you attempt to use this skill)_ **

**_\- | 0 | +_ **

Yuugi barked out a startled laugh and closed the tab almost immediately. No _way_ would he be strong enough to use that, not yet anyway. Not to mention, he didn't really feel like dumping all his points into strength, not right now anyway. Maybe later, though he doubted that. He selected the sword icon next, which was much the same as the blunt weapons one.

**_[ Bladed Weapon Mastery (Passive) (LOCKED) ] Lv. 0_ **

**_Increases proficiency with bladed weapons, such as knives, swords, and daggers. Higher levels mean more damage bonus._ **

**_Current Bonus: +0 ATK/5 DEX ( x 5 DEX) = 0_ **

**_Next Level: + 3 ATK / 5 DEX ( x 5 DEX) = + 3 ATK_ **

**_\- | 0 | +_ **

That was a bit better, but the ( x 5 DEX) was a bit confusing. He pulled up his stats again, nodding when he saw what was going on. There was a minimum stat requirement for these skills to make them worthwhile. The blunt weapons seemed to need a minimum of 10 STR to combat the high STR requirement in the damage calculation. Since he only had 2 STR, he didn't meet the minimum and was thus penalized for it. However, he would gain the entire bonus since he met the minimum dexterity requirement for the bladed weapons. It sucked a bit since bladed weapons were tough to get in Japan, but at least it was easier than trying to get a gun. 

He moved that window aside for the moment, contemplating if he wanted to try the barehanded one. Remembering his failed self-defense classes from years ago, he shuddered and decided against it. He didn't know how to throw a punch at all, and with his small amount of strength, he wouldn't be able to do much damage anyway. Seemed like bladed weapons were his best bet, though he wished he could use magic. He mostly used mid-range DPS magic users when he played MMOs like this. Still, he was apparently restricted to melee until he could finish the puzzle. Mind made up, he allocated a skill point to [ Bladed Weapon Mastery ].

........Would anyone notice if he took one of the kitchen knives? Mama wouldn't, she was never here. Grandpa didn't really cook, and as long as he didn't take one of the good knives, Mom probably wouldn't notice either. To be safe, though, he decided to just take a steak knife or something. Mind made up, he closed out all the windows and hopped off his bed, stretching and wincing as literally every one of his joints popped grotesquely. He pulled on a sweatshirt _(+ 2 DEF)_ and put in his contacts, not wanting to deal with losing his glasses if he got hurt. That done, he slipped out of his room to the kitchen. He had some dungeons to find.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was a bit too long in the making lmao
> 
> i should really be sleeping bc i go back to work.....today (posting this at like 3 am), but fuck that i have fic to write. also bc i straight up couldn't sleep lmao.
> 
> anyway! there's too much math in this fic! also i got tired while researching the bladed weapon laws so like, pretend i know what i'm talking about
> 
> yuugi has two moms bc i say so. also if u clown about his autism and "why even make him autistic if it doesn't effect him????" 1) i never said it didn't effect him, just that the negative parts of it (ie the overload) won't effect him _as much,_ and 2) some of us???? write fanfic???? to cope????
> 
> aka i'm autistic and dammit i want to imagine a world without sensory overload for one day is that too much to ask


	5. Enter the Dungeon

The first dungeon was laughably easy to find. Yuugi wondered for a split second if whoever designed this game was deliberately making things easy on him, before discarding that thought almost immediately. He under no circumstances wanted to think about the idea of some cosmic entity sitting up there deciding on a whim what stupid thing would happen next in his life. Instead, he turned his focus back to the dungeon. 

Upon exiting his house via the back door of the shop, he was greeted with a prompt asking if he wanted to enter the ** [ Alley Dungeon: Haunt of the Mad Summoner ] ** . Having already decided to go dungeon crawling tonight, Yuugi accepted the prompt and was unceremoniously sucked out of the door in a swirl of light and deposited into the suspiciously clean alley. He gripped the handle of his knife firmly, feeling a little better with a weapon. Almost on cue, something groaned from the mouth of the alleyway. 

Yuugi ventured forth carefully, shoulders tense as he slunk through the shadows. As he approached the end of the alley, he noticed something moving. It looked like a person, shuffling along with a limping gait. Getting closer, however, he noticed their flesh seemed to be melting off their body, and their clothes were torn in multiple places. He froze, pressing himself against the wall.  _ "[Observe],"  _ he whispered, staring at the figure. A box popped up, and he winced at the notification sound. Luckily, it didn't seem that the figure heard it.

**_ Walker _ **

**_ LV 3 _ **

**_ Description: The basic zombie. A rotting corpse doomed to shuffle around eternally. Hungers for flesh, but nobody's really sure why. Inhumanely strong, but very fragile. It can crush bone, but cannot easily bite through sturdy fabrics. _ **

Yuugi paled, gripping his knife tighter. What good was a knife gonna do against a fucking  _ zombie?!  _ He could feel himself starting to panic before a wave of calm washed over him. Right, [Gamer's Spirit ]. He shook his head, deciding to try his luck. It was a lower level than him, so it should be okay? If not  _ easy,  _ then at least  _ doable. _ Mind made up, he gritted his teeth and crept out of the alleyway. 

He followed the zombie for a second, trying to figure out how to jump it, when suddenly the choice was taken from him when it turned around. He panicked slightly, lashing out with the knife and carving a deep gash in its rotting face. The zombie hissed, flinching back. A red health bar popped up over its head at the top of Yuugi's HUD, the bar decreased slightly from full. Emboldened, Yuugi slashed at the zombie again, rewarded with another chunk taken out of its health. The zombie growled loudly, swiping at him with its long claws. They caught him in the cheek, and his vision flashed red for a moment as his own HP depleted.

Yuugi chanced a glance at his HP bar, grinning when he saw it was only about two points lower than he'd started. These zombies were weak as hell! No longer afraid he'd be one-shotted, Yuugi grew even more confident, taking out the zombie in one more big slash of the knife, landing a critical hit on the zombie's neck. A pop-up appeared, congratulating him on a new skill, and he dismissed it to check out later. The middle of a dungeon wasn't the best place for it, after all. It's not like he had a pause button or anything! He shook his head, walking over to where the zombie had died. On the ground in a pile of ash was a gross black tooth and a small stack of money. Yuugi's eyes widened, picking the money up in awe. He quickly counted, the total coming out to ¥450. 

"Is this..... _ real?"  _ he whispered, shocked. He opened the inventory and quickly pushed the money inside, eyes widening when it added to his account balance. He knew that the balance was accurate, it was exactly what he had in his wallet just the day before, so the money  _ had  _ to be real! He'd check later, but he was giddy just with the thought of it. Now he didn't  _ have  _ to keep asking Grandpa to pay him when he worked in the shop; he could just farm zombies for a living! He grinned, before covering his hand in his sleeve and picking up the tooth. Observing it, he read that it was a rotten tooth, a common crafting ingredient. Crafting  _ what,  _ he wasn't sure, but he put it in the inventory anyway. With all that taken care of, he moved on deeper into the dungeon. He had a boss to find.

\--

Yuugi mowed through the Walkers like they were paper, leveling up twice before coming across a new enemy. It looked almost identical to the Walkers, but its legs were much thicker, and it wore ragged shorts instead of the long pants and skirts of the Walkers. He pressed against the wall, using his newly acquired [ Sneak ] skill to hide in the low light as he [ Observed ] the new enemy. 

**_ Leaper _ **

**_ LV 5 _ **

**_ HP: 47/47 _ **

**_ Description: A zombie, one of the ranks of the undead. Its powerful legs allow it to leap forward on unsuspecting prey, or sprint forward to catch them. Once it gets going, however, it cannot stop until it hits something. _ **

Yuugi scowled, glaring at the infobox.  _ "Great, a charger...."  _ he thought grumpily, shaking his head. He was small enough and quick enough to feel confident in dodging, but he didn't want to chance it if he could help it. He waited until the Leaper had passed him before creeping up behind it and stabbing it in the back. The health bar popped up as it groaned in pain and anger, already half empty. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the detection meter was rapidly decreasing, so he quickly stabbed it again before it could detect him. Cowardly for sure, but he'd rather not find out the hard way if his game powers extended to respawning.

Once the Leaper despawned, he reached down to check the loot. There was the usual money, which he immediately shoved into his inventory wallet without counting it, a scrap of tattered cloth that might've once been a shirt, and a strange necklace with a circular pendant. The pendant had a swirling design engraved on the flat back, and the other side had an ice blue gem embedded into it. Yuugi used [ Observe ] on the necklace, eyes widening. He just barely managed to not drop the thing, grip slackening in his surprise.

**_ [ Huessprangen Amulet ] _ **

**_ Increases jump height by one meter. + 4 DEX.  _ **

He had a hard time deciphering the first word's katakana, but ultimately decided it wasn't important. The important part was the stat and jump boost! He had to have been  _ insanely  _ lucky to get one of these, especially since that Leaper had been both incredibly easy and the first one of the kind he found. Yuugi stiffened as a prickle of  _ something  _ raced down his spine, straightening instinctively. The building energy dissipated, and he spotted a small box out of the corner of his eye that sobered him the rest of the way.

**_ Status: [ Overwhelmed ] negated by Skill [Gamer's Spirit ] _ **

Right, [Gamer's Spirit ]....that was a thing, wasn't it? He shook his head and pulled the amulet on over his head, tucking it beneath his hoodie. Immediately he felt lighter, like the air beneath his feet was actually a trampoline, or like he was a feather. It was hard to describe fully, but he got used to it fairly quickly. Perks of being a game character, he supposed. Yuugi shook his head, continuing on. 

The dungeon wasn't about to clear itself, and he didn't want to chance a Leaper sneaking up on him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i drew yuugi from this fic! here he is!


End file.
